Alice
Krige has appeared in numerous movies, but it is her role
as The Borg Queen that millions of Star
Trek
fans will know her best for. We caught up with her as Star
Trek: Voyager came
to the end of its seven-year run...

ReviewGraveyard: You spend a lot of time in London, what is the appeal?
It's always raining here?

Alice
Krige: I just feel very comfortable in London. There is no
effort and I just feel as though I am a fish in water when
I am here. When I am in London, my husband and I stay with
a friend in Hampstead. And I love it there, because each little
house is different from every other one. And I adore the Hampstead
Heath. The parks in London are wonderful. I have some friends
who live in Clapham and its beautiful there. There
are so many different parts to London, all very different,
but all quite charming. We often go and have an Indian meal
in Drummond Street.

I
live in LA but don't spend much time there, but LA is like
that. It takes a long time to discover it, but LA has a career
town, a little Tokyo, a Chinatown and a whole sort of Mexican
area, and that's what I like about London, each neighbourhood
has it's own different feel to it. I have spent a lot of time
on Dartmoor, which of course is surrounded by beautiful little
towns. Tavistock in particular is a favourite. I have also
been working in Swansea and Cardiff which are also lovely.
I went to a convention in Glasgow and we had such fun. They
gave me a kilt and a frilly blouse and taught me to dance
- it was a wonderful night. England is beautiful. Last week
we needed some time to escape and we went to stay with some
friends in Norfork. With the blue sky, fields and trees and
beautiful Saxon churches, it was really beautiful. I actually
love the English countryside and I feel more at ease in it,
than anywhere else on Earth - and I have travelled a huge
amount.

RG:
Star Trek has stood the test of time and has a loyal
army of dedicated fans - what is it about the show's formula
that keeps it fresh?

AK:
When I was asked to audition for the part, I had not seen
a single episode of Star Trek, and I had to go out
and borrow the Borg episodes from a friend.

When
I grew in South Africa, we did not have television and I just
didn't really acquire a real test for it. There are these
great gaps in my cultural upbringing. I was very struck when
I first started exploring the series. It seemed to have a
combination of really serious concerns, it really raised moral
and ethical issues that were important and it raised a need
to have compassion and tolerance and see the other persons
point of view, as well as to embrace people that are not like
you. The
whole idea of it being a society without money - it's full
of really interesting ideas that have maintained their relevance.
I mean they are fairly eternal questions that human beings
keep on asking themselves. And society keeps on asking itself,
and this is why, I think, that it has gone from generation
to generation.

Star
Trek is interesting television. You turn it on, and the
chances are that you are going to go on watching it because
it's interesting and the writing is good. It doesn't talk
down to its audience and it requires you to pay attention.
Also they use very good actors. I never met Gene Roddenberry,
but I imagine that in the respect of Star Trek he was
really coming from the heart. I am sure that it was not just
the means of making money for him, but the issues were very
real to him. And if you get that then you are going to make
a connection with people. It's very good television.

RG:
Who is your favourite Star Trek character of all time?

AK:
Data, played by Brent Spiner is a wonderful character. There
was an episode when Data turned down a chance to be human,
quoting Shakespeare's "To thine own self be true," but inched
closer to his goal with the discovery of an emotion chip created
by his builder, Dr. Noonien Soong. He delayed using it for
over a year, and when the chip was finally installed it caused
a near-overload as Data began learning the complexities of
the new. Humour was a concept that largely eluded him until
that point, and I love the way he expresses this.

RG:
Would you be seen out and about in your Borg Queen make-up
and clothes?

AK:
Yes, I would love to. I was told a story by Scott Wheeler
(Make-up artist on Voyager) which I find hilarious.
There was an earthquake in LA. It happened at 5 o'clock in
the morning and they had just finished the make-up on one
of the Star Trek characters. And this actor said, "I
am going to see if my family are alright", and they said,
"No, you are in make-up".

He
ran out of the trailer, into his car and drove home. He got
to a crossroads, it was pitch black and the traffic lights
were not working, and there were no street lights. The cast
member pulled up to the junction, and slowed down to a stop.
As he did this, another car came toward him, and he said that
he was aware of the headlights pass over him and the look
on the other drivers face was absolute shock. He looked as
if the Martians really had landed. It would be very interesting
to see what effect it would have. I would like to do it at
night to see how people would respond. I am totally open to
the thought of another alien life form, Why not? Why should
we be the only ones?

RG:
You
star alongside Christian Bale and Matthew McConoughey in Reign
of Fire that is set to be released in the UK later this
year. Can you tell us about your character?

AK:
I play the mother of the lead character (Christian Bale),
but I am only in the film for a short amount at the beginning.
In fact, it is an act that my character's son commits, that
kills me off. I have also been working in Swansea and Cardiff
for the past few months on a new project that is draining
all my energy at the moment. It is a film that explores the
life of Julius Caesar before the history books started, looking
at his life before he became the great leader that we all
know about. I am producing the film which is partly shot in
Swansea Jail.

RG:
Would you like to play more science fiction roles in the future?

AK:
I have been very lucky work wise because I have worked across
an extraordinary number of genres, and have played an extraordinary
number of characters. I have played at least four characters
that were based on real women, two of whom were alive when
I played them. I
went from the Star Trek set, where there is a huge
budget, and state of the art everything, and it was wildly
exciting to see people working with such expertise. I finished
that on the 2nd July and on the 7th July I was in Winnepeg
working on the film set of a man who is a surrealist called
Guy Madden, who I love dearly. His work is so dark, and this
production was so poor compared to Star Trek. We were
shooting at one end of a soap factory, while at the other
end they were making soap. Not only this, but the soap factory
was in a shunting yard and they were shunting trains around,
so the sound quality was very poor. But, everyone who was
there was so passionate. The work was extraordinary and I
would do anything to work with those guys again.

I
have also done mainstream film and television, as well as
out-there stuff, and that is what has been so interesting
about the last 20 years. So much variety. Usually what I am
looking for is the character, I don't really mind about the
genre. What I am interested in is her, and the story.